French student look after pre-calculus books

Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around recommendations for pre-calculus textbooks suitable for a French student preparing for calculus courses. Participants share their experiences with various books and suggest strategies for finding appropriate materials.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant lists several pre-calculus books, including titles by Blitzer, J. Stewart, and S. Lang, and questions their adequacy for preparing for calculus texts by Spivak or Marsden & Weinstein.
  • Another participant suggests that Serge Lang is a reliable recommendation and mentions the importance of finding books used at universities, particularly highlighting Spivak's calculus book.
  • One participant expresses dissatisfaction with local bookstore offerings, stating that they do not align with their course content and emphasizes the need for English-language books.
  • There is a suggestion to contact the mathematics department at a university for guidance on suitable textbooks.
  • Some participants discuss the existence of specialized bookstores for students in other regions, contrasting it with the situation in France where such stores are less common.
  • A participant recalls a specific bookstore in Paris, Gibert Jeune, as a place where they purchased math books in the past.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing experiences regarding the availability and suitability of textbooks in their local bookstores. There is no consensus on specific recommendations, and multiple viewpoints on the adequacy of the suggested books remain present.

Contextual Notes

Participants note limitations in local bookstore offerings and the potential need for English-language materials, reflecting a dependence on regional availability and course alignment.

Skipiox
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Hi there , well my questions is in the title but i have to say some things :
I have multiples mathematiques and physics courses calc-based and so i want to review the basic .
I already search around this forum and others and i find some books who looks popular here there are :
- Pre-Calculus, by Blitzer
- Pre-Calculus: Mathematics for Calculus, by J. Stewart
- Basic Mathematique, S. Lang
What do you think about these books are there complete for acquire the base for go to calculus books of Spivak or Marsden&Weinstein after ? ( if you have any recommandation for calculus books I'm interested )
 
Physics news on Phys.org
I don't know those books, as I've read those fundamental topics in my own language. Serge Lang is always a good recommendation, regardless of whether I know the book. For books, which are used at university, i.e. Calculus, resp. Analysis, members here swear on Spivak. But again, I would look out for books in French. You could e.g. visit a book store for mathematical books in a town where a university is and ask the owner, which one students usually buy in their first semester (or trimester). Of course you could also contact the math department of a university, but the book store approach is easier.

For Precalculus, you can have a look here: https://openstax.org/subjects
They are for free, published by a university and so you can just have a look and see whether they match your expectations.
 
thanks for your answer , i already look at the books stores of my university town but none of what the owners propose to me was really good in my opinion : nothing was coresponding of what we see in course .
The only books who look ok and correspond to what we see in ours courses are the english books for calculus or pre-calculus .
The department of mathematique is a great idea i will answer them .
 
Skipiox said:
thanks for your answer , i already look at the books stores of my university town but none of what the owners propose to me was really good in my opinion : nothing was coresponding of what we see in course .
The only books who look ok and correspond to what we see in ours courses are the english books for calculus or pre-calculus .
The department of mathematique is a great idea i will answer them .
There is usually only one book store which sells the standard books, and normally next to the university. If you ask in any book store, you will not get a good answer. You have to figure out the one where all students run to at the start of a new semester.
 
We didn't have this types of thing in france , like a book store only for student , it doesn't exist .
 
Only for students is a bit too strict. We had a store which had all the books for natural sciences and mathematics, and I saw somewhere in town, that there was a bookstore especially for medical students, too. This had the advantage that staff in the store always knew what to order in a higher quantity once a year. Maybe this was a privileged situation - I don't know about other towns.
 
Last edited:
have you been to Gibert Jeune, Blvd St Michel, in Paris? I recall buying math books there in my youth.
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: fresh_42

Similar threads

  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K
  • · Replies 12 ·
Replies
12
Views
11K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
3K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
2K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
5K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
3K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
3K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
2K